Brain

OAKLAND -- Jahi McMath, a 13-year-old Oakland girl, underwent complex surgery at Children's Hospital Oakland on Dec. 9 to remove her tonsils, adenoids, uvula and bony structures from her nose. She was declared brain-dead three days later, after she went into cardiac arrest, lost oxygen to her brain and suffered extensive hemorrhaging. Tests by multiple neurologists confirmed that Jahi was unable to breathe without a ventilator, had no blood flow to her brain and no sign of electrical activity.

The release of 13-year-old Jahi McMath's body from an Oakland hospital Sunday night is being hailed as a victory by her family and their attorney. The girl was declared brain dead after sleep apnea surgery last month at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland. Her body was released Sunday by the hospital to the Alameda County coroner's office, which in turn released the body to her mother “as per court order,” hospital officials said. “Jahi is FREE!!! Bye Children's Hospital,” her uncle, Omari Sealey, wrote on Twitter on Sunday evening.

The gig: Wanda M. Austin, 59, is the president and chief executive of Aerospace Corp., an El Segundo brain trust for the Pentagon's space program. Although not well known outside defense circles, it is regarded as one of the nation's most important assets. Classified space: For decades, Aerospace, which receives federal funds, has provided oversight for development of highly secretive spy satellites, ballistic missiles and launch vehicles. Aerospace scientists and engineers oversee the technical side of contracts awarded to defense firms to ensure the work is being done properly.

We all know that reading a novel can transport you, delight you and intrigue you while you're reading it. Now, thanks research by scientists at Emory University, we know that immersing yourself in a novel causes measurable physical changes in the brain that can be detected up to five days after the reader closes the book. The Emory researchers, in a paper for the journal Brain Connectivity, compared the effect to “muscle memory.” "The neural changes that we found associated with physical sensation and movement systems suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of the protagonist," neuroscientist Gregory Berns said, according to a report in the journal Science Codex . "We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else's shoes in a figurative sense.

It will take more than doctors, judges and medical records to convince Nailah Winkfield that her child is dead. Winkfield's 13-year-old daughter, Jahi McMath, entered an Oakland hospital for tonsil surgery three weeks ago and wound up on life support. Now Jahi is hooked to a ventilator that handles the mechanics of breathing, but she's been declared brain-dead by several physicians, including a court-appointed neurologist from Stanford. Officials at Children's Hospital Oakland want to disconnect the machine; Jahi, they say, has zero chance of recovery.

Fans of the television series "Lost" are licking their lips in anticipation of a new cyber-themed spy thriller called "Intelligence. " The show, which premieres on CBS on Tuesday, stars Josh Holloway, who stole hearts and won accolades for his portrayal of the rakish con man James "Sawyer" Ford on "Lost. " "Lost" intrigued viewers with the ominous mysteries of a mythical island for six seasons, and aired its controversial finale in 2010. After that, Holloway strayed from television in favor of film, appearing in "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," "Paranoia" and "Battle of the Year.

Leave it to science to find a way to harsh the mellow of marijuana. A French research team has discovered a natural chemical brake that can tamp down the effects of THC, the main intoxicant in marijuana. They believe it could lead to ways to protect against memory loss, torpor and other side-effects better known as being stoned. “We have this built-in negative feedback mechanism, a brake” on cannabis intoxication, said University of Bordeaux neurobiologist Dr. Pier Vincenzo Piazza, principal author of a study published Thursday in the journal Science.

The family of Jahi McMath this week has continued to clash with hospital officials over what to do with the brain-dead 13-year-old girl. The family has been trying to find a facility that will take Jahi in while at the same time fighting in court to keep her on a ventilator at Children's Hospital Oakland, where she was declared brain dead on Dec. 12 -- three days after a tonsillectomy surgery. Sam Singer, a public relations consultant retained by the hospital, said the family must find an outside physician willing to insert breathing and feeding tubes, a way to transport Jahi and a nursing care facility that is willing to accept "a deceased person.

Just before 13-year-old Jahi McMath was scheduled to be taken off a ventilator Monday, her family was granted an extended court order to keep her on it, even though she was declared brain-dead more than two weeks ago. Jahi's uncle, Omari Sealey, told reporters Monday that the family had found a licensed facility in New York state that would accept her and had already contracted an air ambulance to take her there. But the Oakland hospital wouldn't “allow us to proceed in that manner,” Sealey said, according to the Oakland Tribune . The family had therefore filed a new complaint in federal court and also appealed to Alameda County Superior Court to extend its temporary restraining order, the Oakland Tribune reported.

OAKLAND - A court order was extended late Monday that will keep a 13-year-old girl deemed brain-dead on a ventilator for another week, while the facility pledged to work with the family to transfer Jahi McMath elsewhere if certain conditions could be met. Sam Singer, a public relations consultant retained by the hospital, said the family must find an outside physician willing to insert breathing and feeding tubes, a way to transport Jahi and a...